Young Lincoln

Young Lincoln  by Jan Jacobi   208 pages

Abraham Lincoln is still popular in the twenty-first century. Rather unusual for a man who’s been dead for more than 150 years. Best-selling novelists, historians and  mystery writers are among the many genres who tackle our sixteenth president, the man most consider our greatest president ever.

One thing we don’t have though, is many authors writing about his childhood, at least from a novelistic approach. Most of us know that his mother died young, and he was raised by a overbearing father and stepmother. Most books that I have read either concentrate on his adulthood, especially after he became a lawyer and started pursing his political ambitions.

But Jan Jacobi has given readers a rare glimpse into just how hard life was for young Abe with his new young adult novel, “Young Lincoln.” The cover is beguiling, isn’t it? 

Abe and his sister, Sarah grow up under the domineering personality of their father. Life in Indiana is hard.  The cabin is either too hot or too cold. There isn’t always enough to eat, which could account for Abe’s lankiness.

He jumps at the chance to to take a flatboat down the Mississippi to New Orleans. This changes his whole outlook on life, and he never looks back.

After moving to New Salem, Illinois, Abe becomes a shopkeeper and begins to study law. He also falls in love with the beautiful Ann Rutledge.

Jacobi’s story takes us from Abe’s life as a little boy until he is elected to the Senate. The beginning is rather rushed, racing from one scene to another, almost if Abe knows that his life will be short and he must fit in as much as he can.

About a third through, the writing settles down and reads can esacpe into the primitive world of early-1800s America.  But Jacobi keeps his audience in mind and doesn’t try to go too deep, espcecially into Abe’s bouts with melancholy (or depression as we would know it today).

Perhaps the most poignant scene in the book is the very last one. I won’t give it away, but readers, I hope, will be amazed at how well Jacobi foreshadows Abe’s death. This book is geared toward middle school readers, whom I sure have learned about Abe’s demise. Hopefully, they too will be able to see the poetry in that last scene.  It’s worth reading the whole book alone. 

“Young Lincoln” receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Rocking-Horse Catholic

A Rocking-Horse Catholic by Caryll Houselander, 148 pages

Noted twentieth century spiritual writer and mystic Caryll Houselander was not born to Catholic parents, nor was she an adult convert, rather, like her contemporary JRR Tolkien, she was brought into the Church as a child when her mother converted - hence "rocking-horse Catholic" instead of "cradle Catholic".  A Rocking-Horse Catholic is her short memoir about her long education in the ways of God and men.

Although the book includes accounts of three mystical experiences in which the supernatural broke abruptly into the world of the author, the focus is on her growth through the influences of those around her, some despite and some because of their imperfections.  Throughout, Houselander maintains a charming tone, approaching even the most trying times and people with at least a retroactive generosity and spirit of gratitude, seeking - and finding - her Lord in the crowd.

The Clancys of Queens

The Clancys of Queens  by Tara Clancy 256 pages

When I chose this book, I understood I was picking up nonfiction. I like nonfiction when it’s told as a narrative. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why I love historical fiction so much. Based on the dust jacket cover, even though “A Memoir” is printed right below the title, I thought I was picking up a biography of the Clancy family from maybe the 1930s through the 1950s. I was surprised to learn the timeframe is late 20^th-century into early 21^st century. I will admit that I didn’t’ read much past the first sentence of the book’s description. “Fifth-generation New Yorker, third-generation bartender, and first generation author…” sealed the deal for me. What I thought I was getting and what I got was a pleasant surprise, and an excellent read.

We first meet Tara Clancy when she is seven years old. She divides her time between four homes: Her father’s converted boat shed (talk about open-layout), her mother’s dingy apartment and her mother’s boyfriend’s Hampton estate, and that special place in Queens: her grandparents’ home in a geriatric area filled with Brooklyn-born Italians.

Clancy does an excellent job is depicting her family, the area, her friends, and her lifestyle. I won’t say it was addictive reading, but each evening I looked forward to seeing what Clancy was up to next. I was surprised to learn that all of character’s names had not been changed to protect the innocent, but there is nothing horrible about each one. They are who they are, and I found this refreshing.

The person who most rubbed me the wrong way was Clancy’s grandmother. She was rough. A no-nonsense, foul-mouth Italian immigrant, she was a force to be dealt with. That’s one of the things that make The Clancy’s of Queens such a fascinating read. It’s the real story of real people, not some sugar-coated adaptation of the mild mannered immigrant grateful for the opportunities American provided.

Readers get to experience life in a real way, in Clancy’s way, and those real-life stories are often hard to come by. I have several favorite episodes, but the ones that stand out are:

·        Making her rounds through the neighborhood after being dropped off at her grandmother’s. This sounded like fun and reminded me of my dad making his rounds after he retired.

·        Her mother taking her to Los Angeles to introduce her to her sexuality

·        Weekends spent on Mark’s (her mother boyfriend) Hampton estate, where there was croquette, no television, and hours and hours of philosophical discussion between Clancy and Mark.

The Clancys of Queens gets 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for this review.

Avenue of Mysteries

Avenue of Mysteries by John Irving
480 Pages


"In Avenue of Mysteries, Juan Diego—a fourteen-year-old boy, who was born and grew up in Mexico—has a thirteen-year-old sister. Her name is Lupe, and she thinks she sees what's coming—specifically, her own future and her brother's. Lupe is a mind reader; she doesn't know what everyone is thinking, but she knows what most people are thinking. Regarding what has happened, as opposed to what will, Lupe is usually right about the past; without your telling her, she knows all the worst things that have happened to you.

Lupe doesn't know the future as accurately. But consider what a terrible burden it is, if you believe you know the future—especially your own future, or, even worse, the future of someone you love. What might a thirteen-year-old girl be driven to do, if she thought she could change the future?

As an older man, Juan Diego will take a trip to the Philippines, but what travels with him are his dreams and memories; he is most alive in his childhood and early adolescence in Mexico. As we grow older—most of all, in what we remember and what we dream—we live in the past. Sometimes, we live more vividly in the past than in the present.

Avenue of Mysteries is the story of what happens to Juan Diego in the Philippines, where what happened to him in the past—in Mexico—collides with his future."

I found the parts set in the past of Juan Diego to be the most compelling parts of the book.  Juan Diego's adventures in the Philippines with the two mysterious women detracted from my overall enjoyment.  If you are a John Irving fan you will probably be able to slog through this book when it comes out in November.  If you are on the fence I would recommend skipping it and reading A Prayer for Owen Meaney or Hotel New Hampshire.

My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell She's Sorry

My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman
352 Pages

"Elsa is seven years old and different. Her grandmother is seventy-seven years old and crazy, standing-on-the-balcony-firing-paintball-guns-at-men-who-want-to-talk-about-Jesus-crazy. She is also Elsa's best, and only, friend. At night Elsa takes refuge in her grandmother's stories, in the Land of Almost-Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas where everybody is different and nobody needs to be normal.

When Elsa's grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters apologizing to people she has wronged, Elsa's greatest adventure begins. Her grandmother's letters lead her to an apartment building full of drunks, monsters, attack dogs, and totally ordinary old crones, but also to the truth about fairytales and kingdoms and a grandmother like no other."

A good story with a series of complex and engaging characters and one Wurg.

El Deafo

El Deafo by Cece Bell, 233 pages

This is a graphic novel autobiographical story of Cece when she was a child.  It tells the story of how she went deaf at age four and how she dealt with being deaf.    All fo the characters in the books are drawn as rabbits and the book goes through Cece’s fifth grade year.  She talks about how feeling self-conscious about wearing hearing aids and how much she wants to have friends that treat her the same as everyone else.  She even talks about her first crush.  This was a really cute story that deals with a very real issue that all kids deal with, being accepted for who you are.  Almost all kids deal with those feelings at some time or another and Bell handles it well in this story.  It’s funny, not preachy.  A lot of kids would really like this book.